ASUS Z97-K Motherboard Review

[section_title title=”Introduction”]Introduction

• Brand: ASUS
• Model: Z97-K
• Price: £88.96 (at time of review)

ASUS are without a doubt one of the biggest manufacturers of PC components and hardware. In fact, based on their 2013 vendor sales they are the fifth-largest PC vendor in the world! This is quite an impressive feat and definitely comes well deserved.  They have also appeared in Business Week’s “InfoTech 100” and “Asia’s Top 10 IT Companies”.

For those of you who don’t know who ASUS are, ASUS offer and manufacture a lot of different products including desktops, laptops, mobile phones, netbooks, LED/LCD panels, networking equipment, monitors, graphics cards, motherboards and much much more. It should now come as no surprise as to why they are one of the biggest PC component vendors worldwide.

Today we will be taking a look at something from their Motherboard line-up; namely the ASUS Z97-K. This is ASUS’ entry-level motherboard based around the Z97 chipset. However, don’t let that fool you, this board is still packed with all of the features you would hope to see in a high end Z97 offering except for advanced overclocking features such as V-Check points and debug LEDs. This needn’t worry you though as there should still be enough power to keep you overclocking at an adequate level.

Before we dive into the fun, let’s take a look at a couple of the things ASUS wanted to point out to us:

“ High-value Z97 ATX packed with M.2, high-clarity Crystal Sound 2 and enduring 5X Protection for enhanced performance and potent entertainment”

• Proven quality – 5X Protection. 1000+ compatible devices. 7000+ validation hours.
• Crystal Sound 2 – Flawless audio that makes you part of the game
• Speed up your system with lightning-fast 10Gb/s M.2
• Fan Xpert 3 – Advanced fan controls for ultimate cooling and quietness
• Media-acclaimed UEFI BIOS with new EZ Tuning Wizard
• ASUS HomeCloud – A digital PC hub perfect for sharing and home theater